Patients are oftentimes transported from location to location in a hospital or other healthcare facility on a stretcher that is highly mobile. Patients also spend a great deal of time during their stays in a hospital on a hospital bed located in a patient room. Hospital beds typically have various systems, such as drive and articulation mechanisms for raising, lowering and tilting a patient support deck, siderails with television, radio and other controls, patient weigh scales, and so on. Thus, hospital beds are usually less mobile than stretchers due to the increased weight of the hospital beds. It is sometimes difficult and time consuming to transfer patients between stretchers and hospital beds. On occasion, caregivers sustain back injuries while transferring patients. Thus, it is desirable in healthcare facilities to minimize the number of patient transfers between hospital beds and stretchers.
According to the present disclosure, a transfer top adapted to carry a patient is transferable between a mobile base and a stationary support structure (also referred to as a docking station or a patient care module). Thus, instead of transferring a patient between a hospital bed and a stretcher, the entire transfer top with the patient thereon is transferred between the mobile base and the stationary support structure.
An illustrative docking station includes a support rail extending away from a hospital room wall, and adapted to support a transfer top. In some embodiments, the docking station includes a pair of spaced-apart support rails and a pair of siderails. Each siderail is coupled to a respective support rail.
According to the present disclosure, an apparatus for use in a hospital comprises a wheeled base, a docking station coupled to a hospital room wall and a transfer top that is selectively couplable to the wheeled base to be transported with the wheeled base and to the docking station to be supported by the docking station.
In some embodiments, the illustrative apparatus includes a pair of support rails extending away from a hospital room wall, a bolster including portions coupled to the pair of support rails and configured to define a mattress-receiving space, and a patient support platform having a movable base and a mattress carried by the movable base. The patient support platform is movable to a position where the mattress is received in the mattress-receiving space.
According to the present disclosure, a patient care module comprises a pedestal and at least one support arm coupled to the pedestal and adapted to support a transfer top. The transfer top is transferable between the pedestal and a mobile platform. In some embodiments, the patient care module includes at least one service outlet coupled to the pedestal. In other embodiments, the patient care module includes an overbed table coupled to the pedestal and movable between a storage position extending in a perpendicular relation with the support arm and a use position extending in a parallel relation with the arm.
In some embodiments, the illustrative patient care module includes a base adapted to couple to a floor for rotation relative to the floor about an axis, a pedestal coupled to the base and a transfer top supported with respect to the pedestal. The pedestal and transfer top are configured to rotate with the base about the axis.
According to other embodiments, a patient care module comprises a pedestal, a plurality of patient monitoring modules coupled to the pedestal and a control panel coupled to the pedestal and configured to exchange data with the plurality of patient monitoring modules.
According to further embodiments, a patient care module comprises a pedestal, an overbed table coupled to the pedestal and a communication and control unit coupled to the pedestal.
An illustrative patient care module comprises a docking port having a coupler adapted to be coupled to a base frame of a hospital bed, a pedestal coupled to the docking port and at least one service outlet coupled to the pedestal.
An illustrative apparatus for use in a hospital comprises a wheeled base, a pedestal having a least one arm extending from a side of the pedestal in a cantilevered manner and a transfer top that is selectively couplable to the wheeled base to be transported with the wheeled base and to the at least one arm to be supported by the pedestal.
According to the present disclosure, a patient room comprises a bathroom area, a visitor area and a patient support apparatus. The patient support apparatus includes a head end, a foot end, a pedestal coupled to a floor and a transfer top supported with respect to the pedestal and configured to carry a patient. The patient support apparatus is rotatable about an axis between a first position having the foot end facing toward the bathroom area and a second position having the foot end facing toward the visitor area.
An illustrative patient room comprises a wall, a floor, a monitor coupled to the wall, a patient support apparatus including a floor-mounted pedestal, at least one patient monitoring module coupled to the pedestal and a service line transmitting data from the patient monitoring module to the monitor.
In some embodiments, a docking station comprises a column that rotates about a vertical axis and a docking port coupled to the column to rotate therewith and adapted to be coupled to a base frame of a hospital bed. In other embodiments, the docking station includes a communication-and-control unit coupled to the column above the docking port, and an overbed table coupled to the column above the docking port.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.